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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Bits & Bites

Costco Wholesale is opening its new Cumming location on August 29th. The new Costco, the 11th full line store in Georgia, is opening near the intersection of Market Place Boulevard and Bald Ridge Marina Road. A Costco Wholesale location in Morrow transitioned to what corporate calls s "Business Center" in late 2012. Business Center stores specialize in meeting the needs of food service and convenience store owners. Neither beer or wine, clothes or tires are available in Business Center locations.

Wendy's locations on Headland Drive near Greenbriar Mall and on Marietta Boulevard near Bolton Road are the next metro Wendy's to get renovated. Locations on Howell Mill near 75 and on Boulevard near Ponce de Leon Avenue have already completed similar overhauls as part of the brand "Image Activation" program.

Bawarchi Biryani Point, a casual Indian eatery, is opening its first Georgia location at Abernathy Square at Abernathy and Roswell Roads in Sandy Springs. The 1400 square foot space is located to the left of Publix. The restaurant has a similar name to, but is apparently unrelated to, Paradise Biryani Pointe which operates restaurants in Alpharetta and Emory Point. Abernathy Square has added a number of new eateries recently. Dantanna's Tavern recently opened in place of Applebee's while Jet's Pizza opened adjacent to where schnitzel eatery Seven Hens will soon open.

A new Goodwill store & donation center is opening in Woodstock. The store replaces what was built as, but never occupied by, Food Lion. The store is located at 6719 Bells Ferry Road. For more on this opening check out my friends at 30188-30189.

Sherwin Williams opened Monday in place of a shuttered, freestanding KFC on Roswell Road in East Cobb.

An as yet unnamed bike shop is opening later this fall in Virginia Highland. Proprietor Mike Paller has leased the former Festivity space (between George's and the soon to open Pie Shop) on Highland Avenue and hopes to be open September 1st. The approximately 1900 square foot space will reportedly be stocked with bikes that Paller purchased from a bike shop in another part of town. Paller plans to augment that stock with inventory of his own. Paller, a Morningside resident, will reportedly be the only Atlanta area distributor of Kona bikes and he claims his bike repair manager is the best in the city.

Pollo Tropical will soon begin construction their Johns Creek restaurant. The Pollo Tropical was first proposed two years ago and has been going back and forth with the city to meet zoning and structural requirements. The restaurant will be located in the 5800 block of State Bridge Road, near the intersection with Medlock Bridge Road.

Del Taco will soon begin construction on its location at East Cobb Crossing Shopping Center. The freestanding restaurant will replace the retro shuttered TCBY shop in the outparcel of the formerly Kmart anchored center. As I mentioned in April, this Del Taco has been in the works for years.

The Pub Perimeter plans to open Monday, August 11th at Perimeter Mall. The British themed bar replaces what was most recently Hudson Grille but had opened as Garrison's Broiler & Tap, both from Atlanta-based Metrotainment Cafes.

(In strange Metrotainment news, the group closed their last remaining Garrison's Broiler & Tap in Vinings early this month. According to their facebook page, they "partnered with and will be managing La Paz," a nearby Mexican restaurant on New Paces Ferry Rd.)

The Big Ketch Saltwater Grill will open a satellite location on Canton Street in historic downtown Roswell next spring. Southern Proper Hospitality, the corporate name of the company behind The Big Ketch, opened the first location in Buckhead in 2010. Current Southern Proper holdings also include Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails in Crabapple, Smokebelly BBQ in Buckhead, and Osteria Cibo Rustico in Toco Hills. Gypsy Kitchen and The Southern Gentleman are the group's two new concepts set to debut later this fall at Buckhead Atlanta.